Out of Bounds

15

Grinning at her post, Klare stared at the engagement numbers on her screen and felt her heart swell with happiness. The likes and shares kept increasing every second, and the comment section was already flooded with reactions.

It had even reached their rival school—Brighton.

Klare could hardly believe how fast the rumor had spread. For someone known as the campus gossip monger, this was one of her biggest posts yet.

But her excitement was suddenly cut short when the door to the room burst open.

The loud bang made her jump from her seat.

Shiloh stormed inside with Connor right behind him. His presence alone was enough to make the air in the room feel heavy.

Klare immediately gulped.

"Are you Klare?" Shiloh asked, his voice firm and cold.

"Y-Yes," Klare stammered nervously. "What do you want from me?" she added.

"Take the post down," Shiloh ordered, his eyes glaring straight at her.

"W-What? No way!" Klare said defensively. "Have you seen the engagement?! It's almost half a million!" she added.

Before she could say anything more, Shiloh suddenly grabbed her arm.

The grip was tight enough to make her wince.

"Take the f*****g post down," Shiloh said again, his voice low but threatening. Klare whimpered as Shiloh's hold tightened around her arm.

Connor quickly stepped in and grabbed Shiloh's shoulder, pulling him back before things could escalate further.

"Captain, calm down," Connor muttered as he pulled Shiloh away.

Shiloh stepped back reluctantly, running a hand through his hair as he tried to control his temper.

Connor then turned to Klare, speaking in a calmer tone.

"Klare, I think you need to take that post down," Connor said. "You know the Cross family, right? Because you are aware of Shiloh and his family. I suggest you take it down," he added.

Klare swallowed the lump in her throat and glanced nervously at Shiloh.

The anger in his expression hadn't completely disappeared.

Shiloh let out a heavy sigh before tapping Connor lightly on the back, signaling that he had calmed down.

"Klare, I'm sorry for my actions," Shiloh said, his tone now more controlled. "But you have to take down your post. You're pulling an innocent person into this nonsense," he added.

"Why are you so defensive of him if you don't like him?" Klare asked, which made Shiloh pause. The question caught him off guard.

Why?

Maybe because he sympathized with Cyan. Maybe because, in a way, they were the same. They were both Omegas hiding in plain sight. The only difference was that Cyan’s nature had already been revealed to everyone, while Shiloh was still hiding in the shadows, waiting for the right time to tell people what he truly was.

But that was something Klare—and everyone else—didn’t need to know.

"It's clearly a violation of my rights, Klare," Shiloh said firmly. "All I'm asking you is to take it down," he added. He paused for a moment before adding coldly,

"Or do you want me to call my lawyer?"

Klare immediately panicked.

Yes, her family was rich, but they were nowhere near rich or powerful enough to stand against the Cross family. Everyone in the city knew that.

Without another word, Klare quickly opened her social media account with slightly trembling hands. She navigated to the post and hesitated for a second before pressing the delete button.

"There, I deleted it," Klare said.

Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

But to Shiloh, it looked more like a performance than genuine remorse.

Klare wasn’t crying because she felt responsible or guilty for what she had done. She was crying because Shiloh had knocked her down from the pedestal she had built for herself—the pedestal of being the campus gossip queen who thrived on attention and fame.

With trembling hands, Klare grabbed her bag.

Without looking back at them, she walked past Shiloh and Connor and left the room, leaving the two of them standing there in silence.

"You can go, Connor. I'll head to the infirmary first," he said. "Thanks, dude," Shiloh added with a small smile.

"No worries, Capt," Connor replied.

Shiloh nodded and went out, heading straight to the infirmary while ignoring the whispers behind his back. Students who passed by still glanced at him, some even staring openly, but Shiloh paid them no mind. Right now, he only wanted to check on Cyan.

When he arrived at the infirmary, he saw Kayden sitting beside Cyan, talking quietly to him. Cyan was seated on one of the beds, his cheek slightly red from earlier.

Both of them looked up when Shiloh entered.

Kayden immediately stood up. Shiloh walked toward him and tapped his back lightly

.

"Thanks, Kay," he said. "But can you leave us alone for a few minutes?" he asked.

"Sure," Kayden said and gave Cyan one last reassuring look before leaving the room.

The infirmary suddenly became quiet.

Shiloh pulled a chair closer and sat down in front of Cyan. He gave him a small, gentle smile.

"Are you alright now?" Shiloh asked.

Cyan nodded his head slowly.

"I'm sorry," Cyan said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"No, it was me who should apologize," Shiloh replied. "I only wanted to help, but the students kept misunderstanding things," he added with a small sigh.

"I had Klare delete the post. From now on, just focus on your studies. Here," Shiloh said as he reached into his pocket and handed Cyan his calling card. "If something happens or if this happens again, call me," he added.

Cyan carefully took the card and looked at it before bowing his head slightly.

"Thank you, Shiloh. You've done so much," Cyan said quietly. Shame filled his chest. Shiloh had already helped him stay in school, and now his name was being dragged into rumors because of him.

"No, Cyan. It's alright," Shiloh said gently. "I was the one who offered to help. Technically, you are under my care," he added with a reassuring smile. "So don't worry about it," he added.

"Thank you so much," Cyan said as tears started falling from his eyes.

"Don't cry," Shiloh said softly as he handed him a clean handkerchief. "I'll be going first," he added.

Cyan nodded his head and managed to smile.

Before leaving, Shiloh ruffled Cyan's hair lightly, a small gesture meant to comfort him, before turning around and walking out of the infirmary.

When he stepped outside, he saw Kayden leaning against the wall, clearly waiting for him.

"The post has been deleted, and Klare deactivated her account," Kayden said, raising his phone in front of Shiloh so he could see.

Shiloh glanced at the screen briefly.

"Good," he said, crossing his arms.

"What are your plans about the rumors circulating around?" Kayden asked as they started walking back toward the gymnasium.

"Rumors die down eventually," Shiloh replied calmly. "I'll just have to wait. I was the one who offered Cyan help, but we weren't in that kind of relationship," he added. He let out a quiet breath before adding.

"People just misunderstood my good intentions with their dirty minds."

"I guess it'll die down, especially since you already warned them," Kayden said. Shiloh nodded in agreement.

"Let's just focus on the practice match tomorrow," Shiloh said firmly. "That's the important thing we should be thinking about—nothing else," he added.

Kayden nodded as they continued walking back toward the gymnasium, both of them ready to put their attention back on the team and the upcoming match.